


blue side

by chenlettuce



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Boo Seungkwan is Whipped, Boys Kissing, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Minor Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Minor Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Multi, Ocean, Ocean Sex, Other, Sirens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-03-02 15:58:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18814198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chenlettuce/pseuds/chenlettuce
Summary: before yall start on my ass:i made another account a while ago (yinyoongi), which i'm not using anymore, that i'll soon lend to my friend since she wants an ao3 account. so i'll be transferring that work over here since i am more active on this profile.tldr: the infamous blue side svt fic is coming over here.° ° °"Aish, mermaids aren't real Jihoon.""Then explain the messages in the school pool- explain why Seungkwan's been so reluctant to swim- explain why his eyes were fucking blue Vernon.""Oh no no no- I'll do that myself."





	1. jeju's secrets

On the little island in the Korea Strait, laid many things that the public knew. To the great seafood, the heavenly sunsets on the beaches, and the boardwalks that stretch out to the crystal blue ocean. On the shores lay pristine, white beaches, a few pieces of trash here and there, with cerulean waves that could lull you to sleep if you weren't careful.

There were coves unheard of that only the island veterans could access, the ones through a cave on the side of a cliff or the one you could take by riding the current. There were the waterfalls that you could jump down into the warm waters of the south, or you could get lost on the way and never be found. Or you'd take the chance and find a haven on leafy green plants and deep waters, the choice was yours.

But what about the things that lie beneath the surface? The water below held all sorts of creatures, fish, sharks, crustaceans, and things you wouldn't have thought existed. Including the half fish people that were passed through folktales and disintegrated statues at the bottom of the sea. 

"Aish, mermaids aren't real Jihoon."

"Then explain the messages in the school pool."

There were remnants of moonstones and pedants and seashells that were scattered across caves, mistaken for lucky gemstones. They practiced their magic in secret, whether it be in their bedroom or in the library after hours. The messages in bottles that sailors found, written in indecipherable codes only known to siren tongues, consequently being thrown back into the sea to ride the waves all over again. 

Seungkwan hordes the bottles in his bedroom, unrolling each and every one to see if he can get to Atlantis, see if it was like it was in the movies. Every weekend he'd go out to the beach, swim to the depths to find something, anything that'd give him a clue.

Their tails come in many colors, from the sapphire blue of the ocean to onyx black and white of clouds- but so do the tanks and fins of divers who bring up the shells and shellfish to provide for their families. They’re so rare to see nowadays that they might as well be unicorns to the untrained eyes- as are our fish tailed friends.

As Vernon's going to discover this school year, Hanyeo aren’t the only mermaids Jeju has.


	2. busan boy

"So, Hansol, where are you from?"

Hansol was so tempted to roll his eyes at the girls surrounding him. Sure he liked attention, and sure he liked girls, but them surrounding him everyday during class was annoying. He had to see dark brown eyes of Ji-yeon staring at him before science, and the hazel ones of Mina in sixth period. If he was going to be really honest, he was tired of them.

"I'm from New York- Ji-yeon, you know this already." Ji's head was tilted to the side, feigning intrest in what he was saying. 

"I know, it's just...different though," she smiles, leaning in closer, "you know?" 

"I just want to admire your face and accent." He mocks her with hands and his face. 

It was sad but it was true, they didn't want to listen, they just wanted to have him, whether they listened or not. Wonwoo knew this better than Hansol, but Hansol kept leading them on and on until he got their number and told them off, or just got bored of them. Jeon looked right in front at Hansol, who was talking to Alyssa Cho, who had dark brown hair with eyes that turned orange when they touched the sun. Jeon knew many things, one of them being that Hansol wasn't gonna get bored until he sees every shade of orange he can, from the light to the dark.

It wasn't the best method.

"-You have pretty eyes."

"Why-why thank you."

"Hm, what class do you have next?"

"History, why?"

"Just thought I'd get a chance to see you again."

But it was Choi's method, and it worked, and he didn't think he'd try it anytime.

"Everyone, get to your seats." Yeong-gi, the class look-out shouted. 

Chairs were being thrown back under desks, with the corresponding students following. Trash was being thrown into the bin and pencils creeped onto desks. They try their best not to smile, knowing that they wouldn't be able to get away with anything if it wasn't for him. That doesn't stop the teacher's suspicions as he eyes the classroom. "First off class, pass up your homework."

The children froze, "Those of you who actually did it."

Choi looked back to Wonwoo, who reluctantly gave him back his math paper. The kid never did his homework, and that was a fact.

He sing-songed a thank you and passed it to Sung-jin. "Now, I want to introduce you all to the new student." 

The teens erupted into chatter, was the newbie tall or short? Slim or chubby? Where were they from? What was their accent like, did they even have an accent? So many questions that would be answered in a few moments. 

"-New student?"

"Is it a girl or-"

"I hope they're cute!"

Tapping the yardstick, the teacher silenced them. "Now,"

A teen in white stepped right into the room, and just like that, everything seemed brighter to Hansol. He smiled at the light hitting the teen's eyes and him having to shy away from the light, admired the way the wind flowed through the curtains and swept over his caramel hair. He admired the little smirk that seemed to play on his lips, just like his. And, if he was going to be honest, he was cute. 

"My name is...Lee Seungkwan." 

The teen's eyes lit up at the name. Why be so hesitant to say his own name?

"I'm from J- Busan."

Hansol tilted his head at his slip up, light blonde strands fell in front of his eyes. What was Boo going to say? He heard a 'J', or was it a 'ch'? It's not like would help him out anyway, it could have been Changwon or Chungu, or Jeonju or Jinju.

"I'm sixteen, and I look forward to getting to know you all."

I'm looking forward to knowing you too, Seungkwan.

"Sit wherever." He settled down, right by Minghao. Right by the quiet boy in the back of the class, meaning it wasn't going to be easy talking to him. That wasn't going to stop him though, he'd just have to figure out his schedule, or just go to the back, but he was too lazy.

Hansol sighed and tried to concentrate on his classwork, but he couldn't help but turn around to look at Wonwoo, or glance at the corner where Seungkwan sat, or look out the window and down at the streets of Jeju. 

He couldn't pay attention because of one little slip up, and the mistake wasn't even his. He tried staring at the questions on his sheet, square roots, should be simple enough.

Directions: Solve and approximate the answer for each problem.

1\. 12×√(169÷4^(2)

2\. e×3+π^(2)×√(38

Not even math could distract him, and it was his strong suit. As the bell rang, he packed up his worksheets and headed to Biology. Not even the half-assed experiments about plants, or the monotone lectures of the Civil Rights Movement in fourth period could get his mind off of that.

"See here's the problem-" The teen slammed down his tray, "this dude claims he's from Busan like you, but he was going to say something else." 

"What was he going to say?" 

"Something that startes with J, or a Ch."

"That narrows down the scope."

"Jihoon, I'm telling you, he's not from here."

"I don't know, people make mistakes all the timeㅡ" he starts on the apple, "he could have easily gotten nervous and said the wrong thing."

"Yeah you're right, but he also hesitated saying his name."

Lee Jihoon stopped sipping his milk, setting it down to eye the chocolate cake. "Now that's strange, what's his name?"

"Seungkwan."

"That's normal, what about his surname?"

"Lee."

He smiled, "Just like me."

"Yeah yeah, don't flatter yourself," he jokes, punching his arm lightly. 

He looked around. "Should we go find him?"

Jihoon smiled, picking up his cake. "I think the fuck not, you go find him."

Choi couldn't help but laugh as Lee sassily ate his cake, pointing him towards the door. Determined eyes looked out to tiled halls and marble stairs, which led to the rooftop, the nurse's office and the headmaster too.

He peeked back in the lunchroom to see Lee all over his piece too, pretending like he didn't just see his friend lick a paper plate with chocolate all over it. When the teen looked to the side he saw Hansol and slowly put down the cake. The younger was halfway down the hallway, with the door creaking open.

"Alright! I'll help you, just don't tell anyone what you saw."

"I can't promise that." 

"Course' you can't, but let's go, we only have thirty minutes left."

But in thirty minutes Vernon finds that Seungkwan met with the counselor, and that he's really afraid to swim.


	3. cracking charm

The next day, Seungkwan walked in with a smile on his face, taking a seat right in the corner that everyone knew was claimed by Minghao. Hansol kept his attention towards the back as the students around him clowned with paper airplanes, spitballs, and rushed scribbles in Korean trying to finish their homework- opting to watch the transfer's dainty little fingers swipe, tap, and switch on his screen as he played a game.

He wanted to go over to him, try and become friends- or at least someone he could depend on for homework in most of his classes. Having half of their classes together, he should at least try to make some type of conversation. Plus- he seemed quite nervous about the school- so why not give him a bit of advice? Vernon put his phone down, deciding to go help the transfer- but just as he stood up, a familiar pair of orange eyes pop up right into his face and he's forced to sit back down and make conversation.

Alyssa parked herself on his desk and into his soul, she greets him cutely with a smile. "Hi Hansolie!"

But he couldn't do it with this bitch in the way.

The amber in her eyes brightened to tones of ginger and spice when he greeted her back. "Can you speak English?" She asked, and to his dismay- everyone already knew he wasn't from Korea, so he was basically obligated to speak it.

"Yeah, I do." He asserted, staring at the door as he longed for an escape.

"Then speak some!" She encouraged, a light blush dusted on her cheeks. A few other girls around him nodded their heads in agreement, curious eyes all focused right on him. With that, the New Yorker shuddered visibly in his chair, looking askance to see if anyone would help him.

"No." He retorts, glancing around them- "I want to talk to Lee."

Her finger shushes him with a fleeting tropical lotion scent, a cantaloupe orange nail, and a bit of pressure.

"Why him? He's going to have no friends anyway," Alyssa teases, darting ice at him from across the room.

 _The nerve of this bitch._ He thought, seeing the green within the orange girl in front of him. "Just speak English Hansolie."

"He doesn't have to speak it if he doesn't want to."

She turned around to find that Busan boy Lee Seungkwan had spoken against her, and just as she was about to retort the class lookout yells out. "He's coming up the stairs!"

She scrambled back to her seat in record time, thrusting loose papers and pencils into her bag, knowing damn well they'd never be seen again until she cleaned out her bag at the end of the year. Vernon sat back in his chair, signaling a thank you to Seungkwan. He just nodded and took out his notebook once the professor came in.

He'd have to properly thank him later at lunch.

Except he couldn't, because Seungkwan wasn't there again. The boy groaned and set his tray down, diving headfirst onto the mashed potatoes, not caring about the pale slop that hit his forehead. "What could he be doing now?"

"I don't know," Wonwoo starts, "but yo forehead needs some damn gravy." He spoons sporkfuls of potatoes onto the side of the tray into the watery, brown, tasteless concoction the school had the audacity to call gravy.

Choi moves his tray aside and huffs. His brain didn't want to figure out a plan to find the boy until he glanced at Jihoon. "Oh no- not again bitch."

"Come on Jihoon!" The taller begged, "How about I make deal?"

He nods, waiting patiently to hear his offer. "I'll buy you McDonald's fries for a week."

And just like that, Jihoon was out his seat and up the stairs.

"You check the second floor, I'll check the third and roof." Hansol decides, "That way, you won't be whining about more work."

"Thanks Vernon!" He shouts, running the other way.

"Right..." he whispered to himself, "Now to the counselor's office."

The familiar neutral palette of the office, with it's leafy green plants, and drifting scents of various food drifting in and out of corridors, greets him cheerfully at 12:05 in the afternoon.

He's got 30 minutes.

The counselor's door is cracked open again, and to Hansol's dismay, Seungkwan isn't in there this time. In fact, there's no one in there. Meaning...it was time to look for evidence on the transfer student. The boy strolls in, admiring the cleanliness of the shelves, cabinets, and even the chair- not a single crumb to be seen between the ridges of seat. He wondered how long it took for her to color code, translate, and organize her belongings. He sticks his hand in, feeling slightly guilty as he started rummaging through files in mahogany drawers. After finding nothing but school documents and the smell of carboard scraps, he clicks to the computer.

There's only one problem...he doesn't know the password. He tries a few options like her birthday or the school's wifi, all results are futile. He may not know the password...but he does know a little brat named Lee Donghyuck, who's probably dying to get out of Sociology right now.

A few taps later and Donghyuck's walking through the door. "What are you trying to do?"

"Get blackmail material." He replies, camera ready to record.

Donghyuck lets out a grin, "Me too, but on who? I'm aiming for Jeno."

"The transfer student."

"Seungkwan? Why him?" He asked, sticking the USB in it's port. "He's literally nothing but sugar- looking at him might actually give you diabetes." He sits back in the chair, watching the USB spread a code throughout the system.

The older sits on top of the desk. "How do you know?"

He doesn't look up from the screen, typing incessantly. "When I was seven, my family moved from Seoul to Jeju for a bit- and Seungkwan was a lot of help when I was adjusting to the island."

Hansol cocked up an eyebrow, "He told us he was from Busan."

The younger ruffles his hair. "I mean- that's kind of true...but he's lived in Jeju for his whole life," the computer finishes rebooting, "Alright, we're done. Just create a new account and you should be good."

He slaps at ten in his hand and thanks his junior as he walks out of the office, a long maroon sleeve waving him goodbye, leaving him to investigate the student. "Students-Juniors-Class 308-Homeroom 2."

"Why the hell are there so many Lees?" He asked the computer, who spoke with nothing but the scent of metal and faint little clicks on tabs- taunting him as he flipped through his friends and names.

Lee Chan- a freshman he knew, Donghyuck- the clever little shit, Felix- the resident Aussie, Jihoon- that greedy motherfucker, Jeno-Hyuck's enemy, Mark- Hyuck's Canadian crush, Minho- Felix's friend, Seokmin-one of his best friends--but even as he passed S all the way to W, there was no Seungkwan to be found.

Maybe the school hadn't added his file yet, which was the most likely option. He wanted to click through another time- just to see. But when his clicks started to sound an awful lot like heels against marble he tenses up. In the moment he ducks underneath her desk, she comes in with another staff member- sticking her sapphire heels under the desk beside Vernon's cramped figure.

The New Yorker just hoped Jihoon had more luck than him.

Jihoon couldn't find much of anything on the second floor-but that was probably because he was in the lunchroom for a good five minutes. He goes up the roof to see if he could find anything or anyone up there, and he does, just not who he's looking for.

There's nothing on the third floor either- unless you count the heavenly voices of the choir students and the distant moans of two-maybe three horny little shits in the storage closet. He bet his life savings' that the two in the closet were Taeyong and Ten--or Jeonghan, Jisoo, and Seungcheol. He was also prepared to bet that Ten was one loud ass bottom, as were Jisoo and Jeonghan.

He concludes that the second floor is clear- considering that Hansol had searched the shit out of the Counselor's office. But maybe he could try and sneak his way into the headmaster's office on the first floorㅡbut that also seemed risky-considering that he never left the place.

The shorter thought about where Boo could be. Not the lunchroom, not the counselor's office, not the headmaster's either-then it dawned on him as his feet lead him towards the Pool.

The chlorine seeped into the hallway and permeated the west wing with the scent of a toxic ocean. He didn't like it one bit- but he did love the water, which is why he chose to stay in swim-although he knew the risks. He peeked through the door and saw one caramel head, and another jet black one.

-I found him but he's not alone

\--fr??

-yeah, idk who tho

-lemme check

He wants to get in, but he knows he can't open the door because he knew good and well that bitch was so loud China could hear it. Jihoon thinks for a little bit- until he realized his other solution. He looked around for witnesses and when couldn't find any, he turns into a puddle and seeps under the door- reforming back into a short little teen he thought he was.

"Shit...that took a lot out of me." He tries to pant quietly, trying not to give himself away. Transforming was a lot more effort than refilling McDonalds.

All that mattered right now is that he was in the pool, and now he could see who the other person was--and he was not expecting to see Minghao happily chatting to Seungkwan. The Chinese transfer barely talked to anyone for the entire year- but that was probably they all assumed he didn't know Korean that well. But here he was-completely fluent.

"What if the charm wears off?" The transfer asked, grabbing onto his necklace.

"I don't think that'll happen Seungkwan. It's got a pretty nice enchantment on it-plus, yours is actually good quality." Minghao reassures, fiddling with his own trinket, "Unlike this rope tied bitch."

"Don't say that," Kwan fiddles with the pearls, "it might be a little tattered, but it gets it's job done, yeah?"

"Yeah but I've been here a bit longer than you have, and I know this engraving's starting to wash away. Why? Because time and chemicals are destroying the words that are keeping us hidden."

Jihoon's heart nearly stopped, eyes set on his own bracelet.

He was about to be exposed too.


	4. spell scent

The small mermaid clutched his bracelet tighter than before- everything else in the moment meant nothing to him. He tried to listen on for more information but it didn't stick with him, talks of someone or something going through one ear and out the other.

What he wanted to do right now- was get out, so he prepares himself for another transformation. He feels his body weaving itself under the door and into the hall, resting a blond head against the door.

He wanted to dash to Photography and see if that was true. Set it on record and toss it into the water, see if it would come back-but a little part of him knew it wouldn'tㅡyet he still wanted to see if his biggest fear came true. Not now though, he was too tired for that.

Instead, he let his body wander back to the lunchroom to spend the rest of the period sleeping. Around ten minutes later, someone poked his side. Then another, and another. Jihoon looked up, eyes drugged with sleep, at the somewhat blurry face of Hansol Vernon Choi. "Hey."

The shorter looked him up and down again. "How the hell did you get out? How did you even get inㅡ"

"Three words, Donghyuck and a lot of luck."

"That's eight words."

Choi rolls his eyes, hitting Jihoon. "Smartass."

"Seungkwan's not from Busan." He retorts, opening up a juice box.

The boy sat up, sleep waning away and interest rising. "Do tell me more."

"Before I say moreㅡtell me what you found out."

"He's really good friends with Minghao. I don't know how or when- but he is." Jihoon responds, fiddling with his clothes.

"Really? Donghyuck knows Seungkwan too- they were friends since they went to school on Jeju."

Jihoon's head is off the table. "Hyuckie's from Jeju?"

"No-he just moved there for five years until he could move back to Seoul."

"Oh okay."

Hansol looked at Jihoon again, his eyes lingering at the heaving of his chest and the redness on his face. "Are you alright?"

Jihoon's about to answer when the second bell rings, and that's their cue to get to class. "Yeah...yeah...I'll just have to sit out on swimming today."

The older picked himself up and left his friend there as he went to Photography, wondering what was truly wrong, but he couldn't wonder for long, as he had a class to get to.

There he observed the caramel haired boy next to him, who fiddled with his necklace for quite a bit until, glancing at the crystals that lay dormant within it. His finally pried his eyes from the necklace and finished locking his things up.

After he had slammed his shirt in there, he tapped his shoulder, meeting with two dark brown eyes. For a brief moment, he thought he'd drown in them.

"Seungkwan-ah...are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just...a bit shaken up right now."

He nods, knowing what's wrong. "You're afraid to swim, aren't you?" he asked, sitting down with him.

Seungkwan gives out a little noise of affirmation and Vernon's stuck thinking about what he could say. "Well...let the water guide you." He spoke, unaware of just how much Kwan lived by that same rule.

He liked the sea, he loved it, he even loved swimming more than he loved the songs he'd belt out in the shower to the audience that was the curtain. But at least it was a good cover-up for why he was really sad.

"How do I do that?"

The New Yorker tried to explain, "You...uhm."

The Jeju smiled at the boy's flustered stutters, curious to see what he could come up with.

"Uhm..youㅡyou let the water carry you. The pool will let your legs float, the water will soothe your worries, the jets are the current needed to move you and-I'm talkin' outta my ass Seungkwan, just don't be worried about swimming-why are you laughing?"

Seungkwan's giggles resound throughout the room, bringing comfort to those who heard itㅡin this case, Hansol, whose heart nearly melted at the mere sound of it. "The jets will move you?" He asked, "I thought that went to legs but go off sis."

Hansol rolled his eyes and led the younger out to the pool, where they were met with dozens of eyes from boys tall and short, of different swim trunk colors, hair colors, and the coach's shiny whistle. "Care to explain why you two were the last ones out?"

The city boy looked around for an answer but Seungkwan had his back. "He was teaching me some of the basic movements for the Butterfly and Backstroke techniques."

The two anticipate the worst, until coach nods in approval and Hansol gets a pat on the shoulder, "I've taught you well."

A thumbs up was given from behind as Seungkwan took his place in line, and Choi's heart decided that that was it's melting point.

Jihoon sat in choir, listening to the Beginning Treble Chorus girls belt out weak highs and whatever the hell it was they called low notes. He rolled his eyes and looked over to Jisoo and Jeonghan, who returned their stares of disappointment.

The instructor signaled for them to cease their whining, blessing everyone's ears with the sound of silence.

"They sound like Chenle." Jihoon remarks, earning snickers from Jeonghan and Jisoo.

"Alright girls, that was..." The professor coughs, "something."

Jihoon turns to the window, boredom taking over his body like the plague. At every mere mention of a note or rhythm, he concludes the woosh of his body falling out the window and the sound it'd make when it hits the pavement were far more interesting.

He'd rather at the beach in Jeju, drawing runes and swimming with stingrays the aquarium, maybe the good BBQ place Jisoo took them to back in California. Maybe he'd rather be with Soonyoung, who dyed his hair jet black and styled it in an undercut. Scratch thatㅡhe would definitely rather be with Soonyoung.

"Jihoon...Jihoon!"

A ruler whacks him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to the music classroom.

"Could you sing the first verse of Arirang for us?"

Jihoon looked around at peeping eyes, some laughing, others expectant. Nonetheless, he stood up only to say 'No', and sit back down. The professor looks to the others sitting next to him, silently ordering them to get him to sing. Jisoo only snickered in the background while Jeonghan glanced up at the professor, "He's having a bad day, besides, he's not feeling that good."

"Are you okay Jihoon-ah?" He whispered to him, ruffling his hair in the process. The older's gaze softened as he looked at the professor once again, soft brown eyes holding a plea and a prayer. "Don't make him sing today, Mr. Kim."

Jeonghan's innocent acts never failed, as the teacher simply looked him up and down before attending to his class again. Jeonghan smirked, and he could tell Jihoon had a grin on his face too. The shorter ran a hand through his brown locks, expressing his gratitude for that cover up. "I'm so happy you took drama."

"Me-fucking-too." He replies, "If I hadn't, I would've needed to use the spells again."

Jihoon raises an eyebrow, "What spell?"

"The one I use to make my cologne." He takes a vial with a clear liquid out the bag and a slip of paper attached. "Spell Scent. Makes my life easier one spray at a time."

"Bitch are you advertising?" Jeonghan rolled his eyes at the junior and unrolled the paper. "It's a tongue twister so I need to keep the paper on me."

Jihoon sits up and prepares to read it but Jisoo slaps his mouth closed. The three stooges watch the teacher pass by their desks, with Jisoo promptly scolding the younger. "Did you forget your role Jihoon? You're supposed to be sick."

He nodded and closed a fist around the paper, assuming his role again. He nearly had a heart attack when his teacher checked on him near the end of class. When the bell rang, students started clearing out of the classroom, including Jeonghan and Jisoo. Jihoon realized he still had the paper but it was too late to catch up to the senior. Instead, he read the slightly crumpled scroll.

"Spell scent, smell scent, for a day well spent, with a spall sment- fuck bitch wait." He squints, "Spell scent, smell scent, for a day well spent, with a small cent spent, and no need to repent." 

He looks over the ingredients that were written on the back. He'd need petals of roses, peonies, lilacs, lilies, hyacinths, a sprig of rosemary, a little water, and a penny. "Simple enough," he mutters, shoving the paper into his pocket.

He doesn't think much of the spell at first. Not until he realizes that a certain someone's having trouble obtaining information about the new transfer student, and how it'd make his life easier one spray at a time.


	5. sweet as soda

It's three in the morning and Jihoon's fishing through his jacket for the paper and has the nearest florist on speed dial.

"Hello? Yes, I'll need a bouquet of these flowers." He picks up the list and starts reading, "It's a date, isn't it?" the florist responds.

"Yeah." A date with his room and a crumpled scroll, but it was a date nonetheless.

He scrounges around until he's found the little bowl and wooden spoon he hid in his drawer, grabbing his water bottle to fill it up a quarter of the way.

Jihoon opens the door for the flower boy, picking the petals needed for the perfume. He goes over the spell again and sighs, locking his eyes onto the bowl sitting on the desk. "Fuck-that doesn't say water..."

The paper said alcohol. He didn't want to know how he got water from alcohol unless he was Jesus.

He grumbled, scooching off his bed and out the door. "Maybe Jesus has better handwriting."

First he makes his way down the stairs, falling down the last three steps and lying there for quite some time. Finally, he gets off the cold, creaky hardwood and wobbles to the kitchen. To his surprise, he finds that there's no alcohol in there. Then he remembers that his aunt's home for the week.

What does he do? Unlock that bitch with a bit of magic and descend into the wine cellar.

Once inside, he finds the light switch and observes his surroundings. Rows upon rows of wooden diamond frames lay upon the brick walls. He glances at the wine collection, from drug store to Domaine Leroy- West France to Walmart, he loved looking at all the labels. But as he picked up a bottle of Chloe Rosé, he knew he liked tasting them more. Despite this, now wasn't the time to be Auntie Lin and pour himself a glass, but rather, time to grab it and go before someone noticed his ass was in the basement.

He decides walking back isn't worth it, so he mumbles a quick spell and poof, he's back in bed with a bottle of champagne and some flowers on the desk. He picks a few petals and notes the masterful arranging of the bouquet, smiling as he thought about what to do with them- and who to give them to in the morning.

He shook his head and started pouring the Rosé into the bowl, knowing to stop when it got about a quarter of the way up.

"Spell scent, smell scent, for a day well spent, with a small cent spent, and no need to repent."

The petals dissolved into the mixture with a fizz and turned it baby pink, and Jihoon happened to have a little perfume bottle right by him. With a pour and a throw in the bag, he was done and could go right back to sleep.

Day came earlier than Lee would have liked, harsh, blinding rays from the sun woke him involuntarily and reminded him of his role as a student. Reluctantly, he inches out of bed and to his shower, walks to the black Lamborghini outside, and sprints to McDonald's for a McMuffin.

Walking to first period he spots his target, large Fri in hand, slipping the bottle in there. "Here Vernonie."

The boy's eyes go wide, looking back at him again. "You never get me food...did you spike this?" He asked, "No, I didn't."

Hansol narrows his eyes at the older, who starts taking fries out the container. "Or you know...I could eat it一"

He grabs his fries back without a second thought. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Jihoon snickers and goes on to his seat, waiting for Hansol to discover his little treat. He smiled at the confused face of his friend, who pulled out the bottle.

"Did someone drop their perfume in my fucking fries?" He asked, examining the perfume. He sprays it on back of the fri box. "If they did then it's mine now, it smells amazing."

The shorter had never been happier to have a friend that was an idiot, watching as he drenched himself with the mixture.

Seungkwan caught a strong scent in the air, but he recognized it as lotus flowers and jasmine. He looks up from his desk in the corner and over to Vernon, whom the scent was coming from. He would've brushed it off, but the problem was, the potion's scent wasn't supposed to be that strong.

Minghao must've caught on too, because he looked over to Vernon's desk, and sure enough he was already facing the consequences.

Girls were surrounding him, well- that wasn't unusual, but there were more girls than normal. Haerin's short brown bob kept trying to push through the crowd of others. Vernon rolled his eyes and tried to tell them off, but it didn't work and the poor, poor professor had to save his ass.

In Biology, the same shit happened during a group project. Everyone crowded around the teen when he was trying to get a ruler from the bin, asking for help with his project. That's when Jihoon raised an eyebrow and dragged Vernon away from another little hive of people.

Then lunch came and Jihoon couldn't save him. Vernon's light brown hair was swallowed up by other shades of black, brown, a few pink, red, and ombres. The boy just wanted to eat his lunch, but no. Ever since he put on that perfume he had been cursed with more popularity than he liked.

But an arm grabbed his jacket and pulled him to the side and off to the locker room on the first floor.

There, he was handed some soap, a rag, and some baby lotion. "You might wanna wash that perfume off, it makes those fuckers go crazy."

"No shit sherlock." He retorts, pulling off his shirt.

"Thanks for getting me outta there Seungkwan."

Seungkwan's eyes wandered from his face to his forearms, which were far more toned than he thought they'd be. "Don't- Don't mention it."

 _"Curse my gayness."_ The merman whispers to himself, still sneaking glances at Hansol's chest through his shirt.

Silence fills the room and now they're stuck at a stalemate again.

"Uhm...Do we really have to go back to the lunchroom? People are probably still huddled up like penguins."

"No, we don't have toㅡbesides, this is our next period." Seungkwan adds, pointing to the pool door.

Hansol decides to sit down across from the Busan boy, who's fidgeting with his fingers. "So, do you have any friends yet?"

He rolls his eyes, "It's only my first week here, give me a break." then he adds, "I do have some friends though, it's just...they're back on Jeju."

Hansol nods, watching the other boy's arms cross and his eyes droop like wilted leaves.

_Shit...I'm working backwards. But the only way to get from backwards._

Hansol moves from his bench to Seungkwan's side, resting a hand on his leg. "I know where you're coming from, I had to move too."

_ㅡIs to go forwards._

"Oh! You're from New York, right?" Kwan asked, his stance relaxing.

"Yeah, it was scary- and kind of fun. But do you want to know the first thing I asked my mother?"

"What did you ask?"

Vernon sighed, letting out a snort he hoped the other didn't catch, "Mommy, why is everyone Korean?"

Seungkwan's frame shakes, giggles rising like bubbles in a coke can. Suddenly the can can't take it and it pops open and tilts over, it's remains bouncing off the floor and walls.

Hansol gave the Busan boy a soft smile, not caring that Seungkwan was on the floor or that he was a dumbassㅡsince Seungkwan's laughter was sweeter than any can of pop.


	6. school and sleep

Week One went by pretty quickly. Seungkwan established his friend group, consisting of Minghao, Jihoon, Soonyoung, Jeonghan, and various others. He also established his enemies, Ji-Yeon, Mina, essentially all the girls in his homeroom. He was also afraid to admit it, but he established a crush too.

Although the frustrating part is- he didn't know if he was down for guys or not.

He could only watch from the corner of the classroom as girls surrounded him. His crush would simply roll his eyes and shoo them away. They'd just come back stronger, pestering, poking, pleading, prodding at the poor teen.

Seungkwan had just about had enough of this shit, and was about to say something until Wonwoo shouts:

"Get the _fuck_ out his face, _gotdamn!_ "

Minghao must've had enough too, because he throws a big eraser straight at Jiyeon, hitting her back.

She turns around and tilts her head, wondering who it was. Her beady eyes lock onto the transfer student, Seungkwan rolling his eyes right back at her. The girl struts over to him, grabbing his collar. "What the hell do youㅡ?"

He presses a finger to her lips, a flash of blue sparking in his eyes as he mouths something to her.

"Silent, not violent."

He didn't want to enchant her but _God_ she was annoying. The girl releases his collar. She swiftly turns around, aplogizes to both him and Seungkwan, and sits back down.

Hansol raised his eyebrows, wondering just what the hell he just saw. Were Seungkwan's eyes just blue? Why did she just sit down- or tell them sorry?

He didn't dwell on it much, since he's was just she shut up. Once again, Seungkwan had saved him- with the help of Wonwoo and Minghao too.

Biology comes by and Hansol tells Jihoon about what he saw in first period. Jihoon's quiet munching stops, a fry hanging out his mouth.

"I'm telling you Jihoon, when his eyes were blue-" Jiyeon immediately apologized and sat down.

Jihoon damn near choked on his fries, slapping his chest to get them down his throat. He- he could bewitch people? 

"That doesn't sound right, it might've just been the light." Seungcheol chimes in, flipping through the biology textbook.

Wonwoo shakes his head, "Nah man, I saw it too."

"Okay, so I'm not going crazy."

"You went crazy a long time ago Hansol." Jihoon chimed in, unwrapping his burger.

"Let's see who the crazy one is, fucker, see y'all tomorrow."

"Vernon it's only lunch."

"Okay? And? I'm going the fuck home." He grabs his stuff and heads towards the exit. "Good bye and goodnight."

"Just make sure to meet us after school tomorrow, okay?" Wonwoo reminds. "We're gonna discuss this tomorrow."

Vernon forgot anyway- hell- he forgot there was school tomorrow.


	7. scene by the seaside

Shit.

Shit wasn't even half of what went through his mind, a quarter was fucking up and staying with his friends at lunch to talk about stupid shit, a quarter forgetting to meet them after school. There was a sliver about someone there but he didn't pay attention to it.

He rushed out of bed, tripping over nothing, hoping that they were at lunch so he could recollect himself over low quality bulgogi and lukewarm (or frozen) milk cartons.

The door to the lunch room swung wide open, causing one bitch to drop her tray and another to fall. Hansol couldn't resist laughing as he made his way over to the table, but he didn't know the pair of eyes that watched him.

"Seungkwan-ah, you're staring." Mingyu whispers.

"How could I not?" He asks.

Vernon's wavy, messy bedhead was a a look, his eyes still showing sleep. He was wearing a bucket hat to cover the mess (more like godsend to Lee Seungkwan) that was his hair. A light, colorful jacket was draped over his shoulder with a white t-shirt and loose pants with combat boots to finish.

Sloppy Vernon was one hell of a blessing to Lee Seungkwan.

"Hey, you might be sleepy, bit don't forget to meet with us after school."

"Yeah, what time?"

Jihoon sighs. "It was going to be 5...but now it's 7:30 in the library, so you-we can sleep for a bit."

Sleepy eyes thank Jihoon as he throws away his lunch.

* * *

 

The two friends make their way to their elective, Seungkwan's got urges to ask him questions like, "Who the fuck gave him permission to be this fine." He really needed to know, because he couldn't keep living like this.

Instead, he looks askew from Vernon taking off his shirt, "So, you're gonna meet up with Jihoon after school."

"Yeah, you wanna come?"

"Actually, since you had some time before, maybe you could come to my house."

He dropped his goggles. Vernon might be sleepy, and sometimes he might not hear shit when he's sleepy, but when it's Seungkwan he always found himself listening.

"Yeah, I'll come." He settles on that and walks out with the other.

Seungkwan had the little pendant around his necklace, he'd always wanted to ask him about it.

"What's with the necklace?"

"Oh...nothing, my mother just gave it to me."

The look in his eyes told him not to press, so he did just that. He'd find out more after school though, if he was lucky he'd find stuff at Lee's house.

"So, where's your house at?"

"In Busan, by the coast."

The sleep disappeared from Vernon's eyes, replaced with confusion. "Oh, that's not far, let's get going."

Seungkwan and Hansol set off to his house, Hansol's arm draped over his shoulder. The other blushes and brushes it off. Lee would try on his bucket hat from time to time, letting Vernon take pictures and add filters all he wanted. What Lee didn't know was that Vernon Hansol Choi had set one of the pictures as his lock screen. He didn't know about the unconscious drawings of him in his sketchbook.

They reach the streets of Busan, letting cold spicy noodles and sweet and sour chicken call Seungkwan home. He might have liked it, but it wasn't his real home. It wasn't the vast hues and intricate patterns of the coral, it wasn't a good cookout with sushi and seafood pancakes on the weekends. It definitely wasn't practicing spells with his old friends in the abandoned cove miles away from the small white house they now lived in.

He might be one hell of a homesick homosexual, but he made it work.

"We can drop our stuff off and go to a place I know."

"I kinda wanted to explore your house, get to know you better."

"Alright, let's go to my room."

Seungkwan's house was cozy, living by the beach for a warm glow in the mornings that turned into the ombre of a sunset. Even his room was homey, tattered books scattered all about, a beanbag in the corner by his laptop and tablet, a torn map lay by the shelf, asking to be touched and read and discovered. Trinkets were askew on his shelf, from seashells to pearls and a message in a bottle. Even crystals dangled from the ceiling and blinds. He might as well be the Little Mermaid.

What caught his eyes the most weren't the trinkets, but the way Seungkwan's frame lie upon his bed, the dainty way his eyelashes curled and the sparkles in his eyes. When he asked about the trinkets Sengkwan was more than happy to talk about his childhood on the coast. "My mom was a village girl, growing up in Sunchang, but my father led her out to the sea, took her on a few fishing trips and here I am, getting the best of both worlds."

He held up his necklace, letting it hit the light. With the light came scale patterns that futter and cling to the wall. "They combined their passions to make me a necklace, of sea and sun."

The bay gay shakes his head. "I'm trying not to smile because it's pretty cute."

"Go ahead and smile, it suits you." Vernon admitts, shying away.

Seungkwan blushes, covering his face with oversized blue sleeves that could blend into the ocean. "It suits you too."

Now who was Hansol to resist Lee Seungkwan? His crush, his little blue crush who lived by the sea and ate authentic seafood pancakes every weekend. Who held a mysterious look in his eyes when questioned about more than personal things. Who lit up when talking to someone he enjoyed to be around. "Hey, Lee."

"Yeah?"

"Where do you go to hang out?"

"Before I came here...I used to hang out at places on Jeju Island, since my dad worked over there, but since we had to move out for...reasons, I now spend my time by the coast, most of the time I go out back, or go on the roof." Vernon cocked an eyebrow, not knowing the effect it had on the older boy.

"Let me show you," Lee takes Vernon's hand, Hansol's heart fluttering in his chest as he looks at the other, letting Seungkwan guide him deeper into the sea of his own.

It was 6:30, and Vernon's on a roof looking out to midnight blue waters with Lee Seungkwan and he didn't know how to start a conversation all of a sudden.

"It's beautiful up here, no?"

"You're beauti-," Vernon caught himself a little too late, "Yeah, it's pretty."

A comfortable silence settles between them, then Seungkwan claims, "I've been doing most of the talking, so I want you to do some too."

"Alright, Busan, I'll talk."

Seungkwan just wanted an excuse to stare at Vernon more, the way his lips pouted when he spoke, the way green danced within brown making the hazel he loved so dearly. The dreamy look in his eyes that made it even better when he was a little sleepy. The way he wanted to tangle his fingers in his messy hair and let his desires take control of him. He just wanted to kiss him, cuddle with him, let him fall asleep on his shoulder. All he wanted was to love the person right next to him without having to hide it. For example, trying not to look thristy when Hansol took off his shirt in the locker room, letting his eyes trail down a six-pack he wanted to touch.

"So, that's why you don't take a dog to a bakery and-"

Seungkwan was inches away from Vernon's face, he realized his place and lept right back off of him. "I'm sorry Vernon...What the hell am I doing?"

"I don't know what you're doing," Vernon pulls Seungkwan back over to him, and drapes his jacket over him. Hansol puts a hand on Lee's cheek, letting his thumb trace his bottom lip.

"I know what I'm doing though."

Seungkwan lets Vernon close his eyes and kiss him. Seungkwan also kisses back, with Vernon gripping his back, not caring if he wrinkled it. The two don't open their eyes, but they open their lips, with Vernon's tongue exploring his mouth. Seungkwan lets out a litttle moan, moving onto the younger's lap, tangling his hands into soft messy hair, letting himself drown.

To Vernon's dismay, his phone rings. Seungkwan's face is full of understanding, as he did promise his friends he was going to hang out, but he wanted to be selfish, he wanted him to stay. "Hello?"

"It's 7:00, and I was just calling to make sure you were up."

Lee grinds down on Vernon, placing his mouth on his neck and trailing down. Hansol groans, not wanting to lift the older off of him, so he lets him.

"Yeah, I'm up."

"Great, where are you?"

"On Busan's cock- ah coast!"

"Vernon! When did you get out there?" He asks, "That's like 40 minutes away."

"I know...I came with Seungkwan."

"Alright, just get back over here." With that, Mingyu was gone.

Vernon nor Seungkwan wanted to leave, and Vernon definitely didn't. "Do you really have to go Hansol?"

Vernon doesn't want to. He wants to wrap themselves up in blankets. He wanted to go back inside, drink hot chocolate with marshmallows, whip cream, and cinnamon, dab it on each other's noses, and watch so many questionably bad k-dramas that they could be considered grandmothers. He wanted to walk and talk down the streets of New York, showing Seungkwan the best pizza place and ice cream parlors in the Bronx.

"Yes....I really don't want to though."

He stares into the sunset yet again, sighing, "Well, I have too."

"Alright." He pecks the older on the cheek, "I''ll go, love you."

With that, Hansol hopped of the roof down to the awning and out of sight, leaving Seungkwan alone with his thoughts.

* * *

 

Mingyu, Jihoon, and Seungcheol were all waiting at the table when he arrived. Seungcheol raised an eyebrow when he showed up with his hair messier than before, if he squinted, his lips were a little swollen. Mingyu sat there in disbelief as Vernon sat down, Jihoon knew Vernon liked Seungkwan, and was going to ask him to spill every little detail that happened.

"Hansol...is there something you wanna tell us?"

"No, no, he's f-I'm fine."

"He'll tell us when he wants too." defends Jihoon, pulling out his camera, "or me, since I live with him."

"Since I've already seen the video, show Mingyu and Seungcheol."

"Holy fuck...what language is that?"

The script had a line at the top and swirls and lines all around, it was gorgeous. It looked like a fence gate or a rune, but it was gorgeous. "We need to find something that looks like that."

"Other than a garden fence?" Asks Seungcheol.

"Yes."

He knew Jihoon wanted to laugh, hell, he wanted to too. But the bag of chips the older was crunching silently could get them kicked out, and god forbid they laugh. That librarian was nastier than flies on shit, and her hearing was mother-fucking incredible. Seriously, the woman busted a dude for dropping a chip on the rug.

"What else have we gathered? Mingyu, what'd you get?"

"So I looked through the files and our, 'Lee Seungkwan', isn't registered." He puts the manilla file on the table.

"Yeah," adds Cheol, "but he's from Busan like he said in class, it's just the way that he talks....it's like he's not from Busan."

"Maybe he isn't," Vernon starts, "he did say that he moved over here, but it could just be from another place in the city, like from a flat in the central part to the shoreline."

"Flat or house?" Seungcheol asked, "House."

"Did you go up to his room?" Jihoon asks. Vernon might be sleepy, and Vernon might be a dumbass when it comes to context clues, but he wasn't slow. He knew Jihoon was trying to catch his break and pick up on Vernon's spectacularly gay love life. Especially now that Busan boy had moved here and Vernon knew he couldn't stop staring at his bouncing bootycheeks from across the locker room.

"I did."

"What'd you see in there?"

"I saw a lot of sea oriented things, shells, crystals, his necklace, tattered notebooks all over...it was beautifully organized chaos."

Vernon didn't notice the goofy smile spreading across his face, causing Seungcheol to speak up.

"Somebody's whipped." Seungcheol states.

Vernon's eyes went cold, but then his cheeks gave away his true feelings. "Well...yeah I'm whipped! He's whipped too!"

"How do you know?"

"I should know, we- that's not important."

Silence fell over the group. Eyes stuttered awkwardly and lips struggle for sentences. Jihoon knew he had crossed onto private property, and knowing how Vernon could be, he'd never let him near it again.

"Anyways..." Mingyu put out the notebook, "Let's recap."

"His surname isn't Lee, we don't know if he's from Busan or not, he's lived by water his whole life, and the foreign message on the pool disappears."

"So...that's a start."

"It's not a lot...but it's a start."


End file.
